Over View for the Day

1. Over View for the Day • Government • Politics • The Policymaking System • Democracy • The Scope of Government in America • Summary

2. Government • Government makes public policies made for society. • 4 Key institutions make policy at the national level… • Congress, President, the Courts and the federal administrative To Learning Objectives

3. Regardless of how governments assumed power, all governments have certain functions in common • Governments must perform five basic functions. • Maintain a national defense. • Provide public services. • Preserve order. • Socialize the young. • Collect taxes.

4. Politics • Politics is the process by which we select our governmental leaders and what policies they pursue. • Harold Lasswell defines politics as the struggle over who gets what, when, and how. • The who of politics is the voters, candidates, parties, and groups • The what is the benefits and burdens of government • The how is the various ways in which people participate in politics. To Learning Objectives

5. Political Participation Refers to the ways in which people get involved • Single-issue groups are interest group whose member will vote on a single issue, such as pro-life and pro-choice

6. The Policymaking System • Policymaking system Is the process by which policy comes into being and evolves overtime • People Shape Policy • Policies Impact People To Learning Objectives

7. LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

8. LO 1.3 The Policymaking System • People Shape Policy • People have interests, problems, and concerns. • In a democratic society, parties, election, interest groups and media are key linkage institutions between government’s policy agenda and the people • The four linkage institutions are political parties, elections, mass media, and interest groups. • People expect government officials to solve problems… this in turn influences the government’s policy agenda To Learning Objectives

9. LO 1.3 The Policymaking System • People Shape Policy (cont.) • Policy agenda is the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials. • The four policymaking institutions are the legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch, and the bureaucracy. • The end product of government politics is public policy To Learning Objectives

10. LO 1.3 The Policymaking System • Policies Impact People • Public policy is a choice that government makes in response to a political issue. • Many types of public policies statues, presidential actions, court decisions, budgetary choice and regulation • Policy impacts are the effects a policy has on people and problems. • Translating people's desires into public policy is crucial to the workings of democracy To Learning Objectives

11. LO 1.3 To Learning Objectives

12. Democracy • Traditional Democratic Theory • Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy • Challenges to Democracy • American Political Culture and Democracy • A Culture War? • Preview Questions about Democracy To Learning Objectives

13. LO 1.4 Democracy • Traditional Democratic Theory • Rests upon several principles that specify how a democratic government makes its decisions • Democracy • is a system in which policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences. • Five components of Traditional Democratic Theory are equality in voting, effective participation, enlightened understanding, citizen control of the agenda, and inclusion. To Learning Objectives

14. LO 1.4 Democracy • Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy • Pluralist Theory • Is a theory of government and policies emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among groups, each one pressing for its own preferred policies. • Aka Groups compete with one another for control over public policy, with no one group or set of groups dominating. • Bargaining and compromise are essential ingredients of our democracy. To Learning Objectives

15. LO 1.4 Democracy • Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy (cont.) • Elite and Class Theory • Contends that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule. • Big Business and it power is a the center of most elite and class theories • Policies benefit those with money and power. To Learning Objectives

16. LO 1.4 Democracy • Three Contemporary Theories of American Democracy (cont.) • Hyperpluralism (pluralism gone sour) • Is a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened. ( too many groups) • Confusing and contradictory policies result from politicians trying to please every group. To Learning Objectives

17. LO 1.4 Democracy • Challenges to Democracy • Increased complexity of issues make it harder for citizens to make decisions. • Limited participation in government, especially voting. • Escalating campaign costs stop people from running for office. • Diverse political interests result into policy gridlock. To Learning Objectives

18. LO 1.4 Democracy • American Political Culture and Democracy • Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society. • Five elements of American political culture are liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, laissez-faire, and populism. To Learning Objectives

19. Five elements of political culture shape American democracy. • Liberty: Inalienable rights and a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights • Egalitarianism: Equality of opportunity, especially social equality. • Individualism: American individualism developed in part from the western frontier and the immigrants’flight from government oppression. • Laissez-faire economics: The American government taxes and regulates less than most countries at its equivalent level of development. • Populism: The common, ordinary citizens are idealized in American politics.

20. LO 1.4 Democracy • Preview Questions about Democracy • Are people knowledgeable about matters of public policy? • If there are choices, do the media help citizens understand them? • Is Congress representative of American society, and is it capable of reacting to changing times? To Learning Objectives

21. LO 1.5 The Scope of Government in America • How Active Is American Government? • Spends $3.8 trillion yearly. • Employs 2.8 million civilians and 1.4 million in the military. • It owns one-third of the land in the United States. • It occupies 2.6 billion square feet of office space. • National, state, and local governments in America collectively spend 29 percent of our gross domestic product (the value of all goods and services produced annually by the United States). To Learning Objectives

22. LO 1.1Summary • Describe the key functions of government and explain why they matter. • All governments include maintaining a national defense, providing public services, preserving order, socializing the young, and collecting taxes. • These functions matter because they impact our lives. To Learning Objectives

23. LO 1.1 Which of the following is an example of a public good? • College education • Automobile insurance • Home ownership • National defense To Learning Objectives

24. LO 1.1 Which of the following is an example of a public good? • College education • Automobile insurance • Home ownership • National defense To Learning Objectives

25. LO 1.2Summary • Define the various aspects of politics. • Politics determines who our leaders are and what policies they pursue. • The who of politics is the voters, candidates, parties, and groups; the what is the benefits and burdens of government; the how is the various ways in which people participate in politics. To Learning Objectives

26. LO 1.2 Politics determines who we select as our governmental leaders and policies these leaders pursue. • who • what • when • how To Learning Objectives

27. LO 1.2 Politics determines who we select as our governmental leaders and policies these leaders pursue. • who • what • when • how To Learning Objectives

28. LO 1.3Summary • Assess how citizens can have an impact on public policy and how policies can impact people. • Citizens’ interests and concerns are transmitted through linkage institutions to the policy agenda of the policymaking institutions. • The policies that are made then influence peoples’ lives. To Learning Objectives

29. LO 1.3 All of the following are considered linkage institutions EXCEPT • the media. • interest groups. • political parties. • courts. • elections. To Learning Objectives

30. LO 1.3 All of the following are considered linkage institutions EXCEPT • the media. • interest groups. • political parties. • courts. • elections. To Learning Objectives

31. LO 1.4Summary • List the key principles of democracy, theories regarding how it works in practice, and challenges it faces today. • Key principles of democracy are equality in voting, effective participation, enlightened understanding, citizen control of the agenda, and inclusion. To Learning Objectives

32. LO 1.4Summary • List the key principles of democracy, theories regarding how it works in practice, and challenges it faces today. • The theories regarding how democracy works in practice are the pluralist theory, elitist and class theory, and hyperpluralist theory. To Learning Objectives

33. LO 1.4Summary • List the key principles of democracy, theories regarding how it works in practice, and challenges it faces today. • Challenges democracy faces today are complexity of issues today, citizens’ limited participation, escalating campaign costs, and the policy gridlock resulting from diverse political interests. To Learning Objectives

34. LO 1.4 According to Robert Dahl’s traditional democratic theory, an ideal democratic process should satisfy all of the following criteria EXCEPT • equality in voting. • effective participation. • enlightened understanding. • majority rule. To Learning Objectives

35. LO 1.4 According to Robert Dahl’s traditional democratic theory, an ideal democratic process should satisfy all of the following criteria EXCEPT • equality in voting. • effective participation. • enlightened understanding. • majority rule. To Learning Objectives

36. LO 1.5Summary • Explain the debate in America over the proper scope of government. • Politicians debate if the scope of government responsibilities is too vast, just about right, or not comprehensive enough. • This debate concerns whether the goals that are agreed to be important are best achieved through government action or rather through means other than government. To Learning Objectives